Today we go on the flip side and go fruity with a grownup version of strawberry ice cream that your ice cream connoisseur friends will love and you can probably get your kid brother to enjoy a scoop or two as well.

I’m also going to let you in on a little secret here, ever bite into fruit ice cream with real fruit and have to deal with rock hard pieces? Want to know the way around that while also imparting robust fruit flavor into your ice cream?

Roast it.

Yeah, that’s right. I want you to turn on your oven in the summer and roast up some fruit. The natural juices come out, the fruit softens and it’s just magical.

Fruit ice creams were always just okay for me but my opinion completely changed after one spoonful. Go for a balsamic syrup if you can find it, if not a nice aged one with some sweetness and it balances perfectly with the basil. Oh and make sure to add all that liquid gold from the roasting pan, it becomes a natural food coloring with just the right shade of pink.

Heat your oven to 300 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the cut strawberries with the balsamic glaze and vanilla bean paste and spread in an even layer. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until soft and juices have released. Let cool.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat bring the milk, sugar and salt to a simmer.

Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl and whisk in a small amount of heated milk to temper the yolks.

Very slowly drizzle the tempered yolks into the milk, constantly whisking so you don't scramble the eggs. Continue to whisk after you've finished adding the yolks for 1-2 minutes or until the custard has thickened.

Set up an ice bath with a medium bowl inside a larger one, place the heavy cream in the medium bowl with a fine mesh sieve over top.

Pour the custard over the sieve and discard any solids. Cool completely. This can be done ahead of time and left to cool in your refrigerator.

Churn the ice cream according to your ice cream machine and add the basil and strawberries plus juices in the last 2 minutes.

Scoop into a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Susan, Liz said it best: this ice cream is indeed spectacular! I love your creativity. I was drooling with every word of this post because roasting the strawberries, using balsamic and basil, utilizing the juices from the roasting…all of it sounds amazing. This ain’t the strawberry ice cream from my youth, that’s fer sure! It’s so much better! And I love all your photos – they’re gorgeous.

I never tried roasting fruit before for ice cream. Good call so you don’t hurt your teeth on frozen fruit bits! This ice cream sounds like it has a lot of flavor (especially since I love both balsamic vinegar and basil).